Kerry camp spins its wheels

"...it was a little strange that the campaign picked as its press-pass logo for its Motor City tour the gleaming showcase car of a foreign auto company — Rolls-Royce — that makes cars priced far outside the financial reach of any middle-class voter.

"'That's an insult to the auto worker, it's an insult to the American worker, it's an insult to mainstream America,' said Sam Burwell from Corunna, Mich., a third-generation auto worker for General Motors. 'It also shows who he's really in touch with: his European, elitist French friends and not Americans like me. A Rolls-Royce, for cryin' out loud.'"

The original portable media viewer

View-Master still going strong at 65:

"'People who grew up in the '70s think it's a '70s thing,' collector Eddie Bowers said, 'and people who grew up in the '50s think it's a '50s thing. It's their childhood.'"

I loved my viewmaster! The pictures were breathtaking, especially when looking at originally-drawn art (as opposed to cartoon cels adjusted for the format.) I even had a projector that displayed the art on the wall, albeit not as brilliantly as the personal viewer.

Along with my "show and tell" player from G.E., and my Fisher Price movie viewer, these were the closest things to "home video" for a '70s kid.

Despite positive tone, Kerry faces deficit

And not from out of control government spending as you'd usually expect from a Democrat (if he gets elected, that's another matter.) Senator Kerry is lacking in the electors department, and may not graduate from "college".

Ah, the wisdom of the founding fathers shines through even today!

Ronstadt gets audience walkout encore

You're no good, you're no good, you're no good...

Krauthammer: Strike before Iran's nukes get hot

"Did we invade the wrong country? One of the lessons now being drawn from the 9/11 report is that Iran was the real threat. The Iraq War critics have a new line of attack: We should have done Iran instead.
Well, of course Iran is a threat. But how exactly would the critics have 'done' Iran? Iran is a serious country with a serious army. Can you imagine the Iraq War critics actually supporting war with Iran?
If not war, what then?"

Television's Biased Convention Coverage

"As the coverage includes less of the actual convention, the liberally-skewed analysis of network reporters becomes even more dominant than in previous years."

Read on for an astute analysis of how the networks "sneak it in."

Desire to beat Bush masks deep divisions within Democratic Party

Who are Democrats and what do they believe:

"In a benchmark survey last year, the Pew Research Center found that the ranks of self-identified Democrats include:


-36 percent of women and 27 percent of men.


-64 percent of blacks and 36 percent of Hispanics.


-38 percent of those 65 and older, the most solidly Democratic age group. (Ed. note: because they're from the depression era. Duh.)


-36 percent of those with less than a high school education, the most solidly Democratic group by education, and 33 percent of those with a postgraduate college education, the second most Democratic group.


-39 percent of those making less than $20,000 a year, the most Democratic income group.


-27 percent of those making more than $75,000, the least Democratic income group. "

Turning Tale

"The tale spun by former Ambassador Joseph Wilson that Iraq did not ever try to buy uranium yellowcake from Niger is now in the process of unraveling. And, of course, the phalanx of anti-war journalists is desperately trying to stop the bust-up. But it can't be done..."

"I do not like Sandy Berger; and I have not liked him since the first time we met, long ago during the McGovern campaign, not because of his politics since I more or less shared them then, but for his hauteur. He clearly still has McGovernite politics, which means, in my mind, at least, that he believes there is no international dispute that can't be solved by the U.S. walking away from it."

REPUTED MAFIA MEMBERS INDICTED IN MURDER ATTEMPT ON TALKRADIO HOST

I don't know about you, but in this day and age it's hard to imagine the mob doing something as brazen as this.

Survey: Protestant majority disappearing in the USA

As a former research geek in the radio business, I love telling 'the story behind the numbers'.

"Between 1993 and 2002, the share of Americans who said they were Protestant dropped from 63% to 52%, after years of remaining generally stable, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

"At the same time, the number of people who said they had no religion rose from 9% to nearly 14%, and many are former Protestants, the survey's authors said."

"Among the reasons for the decline were the large number of young people and adults leaving denominations as the number of non-Protestant immigrants increased, comprising a greater share of the population. Also, a lower percentage are being raised Protestant...

This is not a positive change by any means.

"...it is also possible that some former Protestants are now identifying themselves only as 'Christian,' a choice on the survey."

That's bunk. Any Christian who isn't in communion with the Catholic church or Orthodox church is Protestant by definition and by default. "I'm just a Christian" means "I reject the trappings of an organized church" or "I just read/believe my Bible" which are both inherently Protestant approaches to Christianity.

"The Roman Catholic population has remained relatively stable over the period, making up about 25% of the U.S. population."

So what's really being said here is, Americans are increasingly frustrated spiritually, and neither the Catholics nor the Protestants have done a good job in reaching out (I'll stop short of saying "evangelizing").

World's Smallest Cat Weighs Only Three Pounds

Oh, look at this little sweetie. What better home than a vet's clinic?

Celebrities declare own war -- on Bush

Yes, but the cost of war is steep:

"unsolicited anti-Bush rhetoric, which appears to be spinning out of control, is alienating both Republicans and Democrats."

The main effect their b-s has is alienating a goodly sum of the population, especially Republicans who will be more motivated to show up "those Hollywood types" by voting for Bush.

Senator's Office Says It Arranged Meeting Space Used for Rev. Moon Meeting

Members of our party can sometimes act like real whores.

Blair attacks swinging 60s

Oh BEHAVE, Tony!

Schwarzenegger Calls Dems 'Girlie Men'

Hear me now and believe me later! This budget is on steroids and steroids are for girlie men! This budget has flab and is full of soft and squishy programs that benefit girlie men like you!

You could've slapped me upside the head

Today has been a whirlwind and it's not even 2:00.

At mass this morning as Monsignor was talking about one having a defective conscience, my mind wandered back to some of the more heinous things I did in my younger days. For the first time in a while I began to sweat in church like ...well, like a whore in church. The crazy thing is, for a while I could not get my sins out of my head. Then Monsignor talked about having too scrupulous a conscience, confessing things that have already been absolved because one thought the details didn't paint a complete picture. These sins and many others involving all seven deadly sins were long ago confessed and absolved. Still, I wouldn't be Catholic if I couldn't feel guilty about something. Like Lou Costello, "I'm a baaaaaaaaaaaad boy!"

I write this at my own peril, for after church I'm stopped by one of the parishioners and her husband - I'll keep them anonymous - who asked me "Are you the guy with the blog?" POW! I was actually embarassed. Although I write this thing for reasons that may not be too clear to me, I never think anybody is reading. This is the second time someone has shocked me with this. It just goes to prove that someone is always watching what one does or says.